[Coco] Re: Coco Repack

[KnudsenMJ at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/8/04 1:55:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jdaggett at gate.net 
writes:

> Yes you can establish page size to any size block of memory that you want. 
1K 
> to 
>  32K is doable. But remember that not only the OS but any and all 
application 
>  software has to be compiled to use that memory page size. 
>  Example:
>  I have an application that is written around the fact that the page memory 
> expansion 
>  is based on 8K pages. This application stores a database in 256K of ram. 
If the 
>  system is configured to do 2K pages in paged memory expansion then the 
>  application is going to have a major problem. 

Wow, another paging application -- just like Roger's Projector3 and my 
UltiMusE.
Yes, the page size is hard-coded into the application, and not something that 
code could be written to adapt to if it changes.  And it isn't just OS-9 apps 
using this stuff, as yours and Roger's apps are examples.
 
>  Once you set the page size for the paged memory expansion, the OS and all 
> the 
>  applications must know that and be compiled and written for that page 
size. 
>  Every one has to sing off the same sheet of music or you have chaos.

AMEN, brother! 
If we end up with Coco systems using various block sizes, we will end up with 
incompatible machines and software, further dividing the community.

I could imagine a Coco repack with switches on the front to set the block 
size -- but you'd have to reboot the OS (including alternate versions of RSBASIC) 
and apps whenever you changed the settings.

Maybe that would be OK.  But given the number of good apps (and OS-9 as a 
whole) written with 8K blocks, do we really need to screw with this now?
 --Mike K.